Twins @ Royals 8/21/16, 1PM CDT

[Circus Boy]

Even though the Twins left the bases loaded, I feel strangely optimistic about this game.

 

And the head of the White Star Line assured me that he had an open seat on the lifeboat just for me.

[Riverbrian]

 

If any one thing could have been funny enough to redeem the '70s all on its own, that may have been it.

 

 

The Turkey Drop is as good as it gets but my favorite WKRP Moment was this:

 

Les: Johnny! Venus! You're alive!
Johnny: The newsman's eye. You just can't fool it.
Les: Well, that's wonderful.
Venus: Gee thanks, Les.
Les: Of course, I'll have to update my story. How'd you like it, Andy?
Andy: How'd I like what, Les?
Les: My four o'clock news report. Didn't you listen?
Andy: Les, the transmitter blew up!
Les: Of course! That was my lead!
Johnny: You led off the newscast by telling them that we're off the air?
Les: No. But I can include that in my update.

[ashbury]

Even though the Twins left the bases loaded, I feel strangely optimistic about this game.

http://orig03.deviantart.net/6bef/f/2012/214/a/1/optimism_poster_by_icanseeyourmonkey-d59i8wf.jpg

[Circus Boy]

GROSS-MANNNNN!

 

Nice half-a-homer there.

[Riverbrian]

 

Grossman is trying and doing the best he can, that's all we can ask for. It's not his fault he's playing.

 

Yep... It's on whoever hires the people who hire the people.

[operation mindcrime]

I swear, on the soul of my dog, that when I turned on the game, the first thing I heard was Dick saying "... and the Twins leave the bases full".

I feel bad for your dog. Alyssa Milano should come rescue it!

[operation mindcrime]

Rock on Trevor!

[USAFChief]

Glunn lurking.

[ashbury]

Yep... It's on whoever hires the people who hire the people.

Oh yeah? And just who elected them?

[Winston Smith]

 

Is he hurt?  It feels strange to ask a serious question in the game thread, but there it is.

No people are expecting him to be good and he isn't, imo. If you play players that are mediocre or worse and they don't play like stars we shouldn't be surprised.

[Physics Guy]

Last inning Dick says the Twins hope Sano turns into a batter that mashes LHP.  He then goes on to say he hasn't become that yet.  His evidence is hitting .273 vs LHP vs. .244 overall.  He has 4 HR and 10RBI vs LHP and 16 HR and 40 RBI vs RHP. 

 

Surprisingly, he has over 4X the PA vs righties.

 

vs. LHP:  .273/.420/.527

vs RHP:  .238/.317/.468

 

Seems to be hitting LHP pretty well to me.  I know, how dare I use actual statistics to make a point.

 

 

[LaBombo]

 

I feel bad for your dog. Alyssa Milano should come rescue it!

No worries, pug soul intact, and the rest is settled in for the duration of the Twins game. This is stock footage from the internet but perfectly captures both my dog's preferred cushion/armrest sandwich nap dynamic(?) and her level of excitement over the Twins' current defensive (aka 'fetch') prowess, which is the only facet of the game that interests her.

 

[Physics Guy]

Thanks Duffy.  Took away a DP.

[operation mindcrime]

Last inning Dick says the Twins hope Sano turns into a batter that mashes LHP. He then goes on to say he hasn't become that yet. His evidence is hitting .273 vs LHP vs. .244 overall. He has 4 HR and 10RBI vs LHP and 16 HR and 40 RBI vs RHP.

 

Surprisingly, he has over 4X the PA vs righties.

 

vs. LHP: .273/.420/.527

vs RHP: .238/.317/.468

 

Seems to be hitting LHP pretty well to me. I know, how dare I use actual statistics to make a point.

I wish Dick's name was Ernie!

[Riverbrian]

 

I wish Dick's name was Ernie!

 

Now that you have mentioned that. 

 

I'm adding it to my list of wishes. 

[ashbury]

No people are expecting him to be good and he isn't, imo. If you play players that are mediocre or worse and they don't play like stars we shouldn't be surprised.

[Riverbrian]

 

No worries, pug soul intact, and the rest is settled in for the duration of the Twins game. This is stock footage from the internet but perfectly captures both my dog's preferred cushion/armrest sandwich nap dynamic(?) and her level of excitement over the Twins' current defensive (aka 'fetch') prowess, which is the only facet of the game that interests her.

 

 

I don't recognize what that is

[operation mindcrime]

Good God Grossman!

[LaBombo]

 

No people are expecting him to be good and he isn't, imo. If you play players that are mediocre or worse and they don't play like stars we shouldn't be surprised.

Yeah, I hear ya. I think Grossman suffers from a very specific kind of stereotype, which is that a switch-hitting, high on-base outfielder without much power should also play killer defense (but more likely in center than a corner) and steal bases.

 

But for the price the Twins paid for Grossman, the getting on base thing alone is a nice payoff, and anything more would be a bonus. So far, no bonus.  But with Buxton still germinating and Rosario still... Rosario, we take the bad with the good, I guess.

[operation mindcrime]

I don't recognize what that is

Its Yasiel Pug!

[ashbury]

No worries, pug soul intact

I don't recognize what that is

I'll sell you a hint for a dollar.

 

/ Ninja'ed by Mindcrime

[ashbury]

Well, I stopped by to sample the scintillating conversation, and got beguiled by the tumbling sagebrush, but now I gotta go run my errands. Hopefully I come back to a large Twins lead.

 

http://media.fakeposters.com/results/2012/11/08/9zvoni067u.jpg

[operation mindcrime]

That was some nice DP action!

[LaBombo]

 

I don't recognize what that is

For a certain subset of the population, it's a delightful cat photo being partially blocked by a stinky, snoring, miniature monstrosity.

[LaBombo]

 

Last inning Dick says the Twins hope Sano turns into a batter that mashes LHP.  He then goes on to say he hasn't become that yet.  His evidence is hitting .273 vs LHP vs. .244 overall.  He has 4 HR and 10RBI vs LHP and 16 HR and 40 RBI vs RHP. 

 

Surprisingly, he has over 4X the PA vs righties.

 

vs. LHP:  .273/.420/.527

vs RHP:  .238/.317/.468

 

Seems to be hitting LHP pretty well to me.  I know, how dare I use actual statistics to make a point.

That's kind of what I expected, but thanks for posting it. I thought Dick's lefty mash comment was odder than usual for him, not only because Sano is already there by any reasonable definition, but because the Twins are hardly a collection of righty-crushing savants who lay down against lefties.

[USAFChief]

Meanwhile, nice job by Ervin, again.

 

And I thought Bert's comment about his pitching when the Royals had 1st and 2nd, nobody out, was spot on.

 

He fell behind Morales 3-1, but then stuck a 95 MPH fastball on the corner at the knees to get to 3-2.  That's a pitch that Duffey and Berrios can't throw with any regularity yet.  It got Santana back into the Morales AB and eventually he got a GIDP.  

[Circus Boy]

Ervin is dealin' today. Come on, bats!

[LaBombo]

Gordon and his gold-tinted glove seem to be going out of their way to make Grossman look more gross in left field by comparison.

[USAFChief]

Took a lunch break, by the way.

 

Hot dogs on the grill, corn on the cob, watermelon, cold glass of milk.

 

'merica!

[SwainZag]

Really nice AB from EE to eventually draw that walk